Easy as 1-2-3 for the Mega Millions Lucky Lottery Winners of Record Jackpot!

If you asked any of the three lucky players who shared equally in the recent historic record Mega Millions Lottery jackpot prize of an astounding $656 million, each winner would probably say that they're more than happy with the three way split!

Let's face it, even split three ways, $656 million is a lot of money.

For the average Joe or Jane, trying to imagine coming into that much wealth would be almost mind boggling. Just deciding how to spend a fortune the size of a king's ransom could be challenging. But that's a problem that most of us wouldn't mind grappling with at all!

The Three Winning Tickets

Thousands of people flocked to buy tickets for the huge jackpot before the March 30th Mega Millions drawing. Lottery ticket vendors reported record sales as hopeful players stood in long lines to purchase a chance in the drawing and the fabulous jackpot prize. When the dust settled, three players matched all six numbers to hit the jackpot. These winning tickets were sold in Illinois, Maryland and Kansas.

On April 6th, the first winner came forward. This Kansas player chose to remain anonymous and declined to even make his or her gender known to the public. The ticket was sold at a Casey's General Store in Ottawa, about 40 miles south of Topeka. The Kansas ticket was worth one-third of the total jackpot, roughly $219 million, which the winner chose to take in a lump sum of about $158 million or $110 million after taxes. In some states, a lottery winner is not allowed to maintain anonymity, but this is not the case in Kansas.

The next winner to come forward for a share of this stupendous Mega Millions jackpot was actually a group of three public school workers from Maryland who each pitched in $20 apiece to purchase $60 worth of lottery tickets in various locations, including the Baltimore 7-11 convenience store that produced the winning ticket. This ended the controversy regarding Mirlande Wilson, the Baltimore McDonald's worker who claimed to have bought and then “misplaced” the winning ticket. The three genuine winners chose to remain anonymous.

The third and last winner in the historic record March 30th, 2012 Mega Millions Lottery drawing to step forward was the ticket holder from Illinois. On April 18th, a retired couple from a small town in the southern portion of Illinois stepped forward to claim their share of the giant jackpot. This lucky couple has been married 41 years and unlike the other two winners, had to reveal their identity under Illinois law. Merle and Patricia Butler waited almost three weeks before claiming their share of the jackpot, in order to consult with financial and legal advisors.

Winning even a third of a $656 million lottery jackpot is the stuff dreams are made of and you can bet that these fantastically lucky players feel like it's a dream come true!